


Rattlesnake Smile

by vic_amy_z



Category: Angel: the Series
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-22
Updated: 2011-10-22
Packaged: 2017-10-24 20:49:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/267738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vic_amy_z/pseuds/vic_amy_z
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set as an alternate ending to 'Dead End'. Angel and Lindsey find that they have more in common than they'd care to think about.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rattlesnake Smile

**Author's Note:**

> I always wanted to write Angel / Lindsey, but it was just a case of waiting for the inspiration to strike! This finally came during the billionth listening of the Kane album, and any Lindsey fans who haven't heard his album should march themselves right out to the nearest store and buy it immediately! A sample of the song featured in this fic can be found at: http://www.spiritboys.com/samples.htm. Never let it be said that fanfic isn't interactive! (Additional - I started this months ago, before Lindsey turned up again, and so my planned S5-based sequel has now been well and truly Jossed! Although, not having seen any of the episodes in question, I may do it anyway, Joss be damned!)

*Clink... Clink*

The ice in Angel's drink made a soothing sound as he swirled the amber liquid around the glass. He picked it up and drained it in one, signalling a faceless, nameless bartender to refill it.

*Clink... Clink*

He had had the *mother* of 'bad days at the office', and if he never heard of a certain 'Wolfram and Hart' again, it would be too soon.

He drained the glass again and dropped it desolately back on the bar.

Not enough... Never enough.

These days, he felt as though no amount of alcohol could *ever* blot out the memory of the law firm that haunted his every waking moment. Nor was there enough soap in the world to make him feel truly clean after the amount of time he had spent wallowing in their filth.

He wondered how their employees could stand it. Did they come home to drink and scrub... or did they just not notice it?

He picked up his glass that had been miraculously filled once more and downed another shot. The edges of his world were finally succumbing to soft-focus and 'comfortably numb' was starting to look attainable.

Some part of Angel knew that he should go back to the hotel to let the others know what had happened, thus avoiding a later questioning by Cordelia and reproachful looks from Wesley, but it was a very small part of him and Angel was doing his best to keep it subdued. The greater part of the vampire wanted to stay where he was, to keep drinking and maybe - just maybe - be able to forget about humans bought for their body parts, animated corpses and whispered pleas for futile existences to be ended.

*Clink... Clink*

~~~~~~~~

Behind him, in the corner of the bar, movement and scuffling indicated that the band were back from their break and preparing to start a second set. Although Angel had come here, rather than Caritas, to avoid any singing, he had soon found that he was grateful for the noise. It gave everyone else in the bar something to focus on and stopped anyone from trying to speak to him - he really wasn't in the mood to play the 'friendly neighbourhood vamp'.

Their first number was a relentlessly cheery, country-rock number, which just didn't go with Angel's frame of mind. He started irritably ripping up beer mats. Fortunately it ended quickly, and after the applause had died down, the band's singer began to introduce the next number.

'We'd like to bring up a guest singer for this one, a friend of ours who's suddenly and unexpectedly back in the business, but tells us he's leaving LA. So we'd like to do a little farewell number in the form of a great song he wrote with us a while back.'

More applause before a single guitar started a dark and heavy rhythm. Now this is more like it, thought Angel, sipping his drink and closing his eyes to the sound. It filled out, becoming even darker and more atmospheric. Then came the voice...

 _''It's been a long time since I wore this rattlesnake smile,  
And a lot of my friends haven't seen it in quite a while,  
I feel my eyes rolling deep inside my head,  
And there's a feeling of misconception in the air.  
Yeah I'm starting to see. Yeah I do believe.''_

It was deep, velvety and emotional, with a raw edge to it that hinted at something darker beneath the surface. Angel felt all of this - and he knew nothing about music. He signalled for yet another refill and continued to listen.

 _''You better keep your distance in this tangled shape I'm in,  
Now no one had better touch me right now in this cold-blooded thick skin,  
Oh I said you better run real fast when you hear that rattling sound,  
Well you better run real fast man or this one's gonna knock you down._

 _I sit alone and try to shed this skin that I live in,  
Trying to clear my vision once again.''_

God! There was something just so familiar about that great voice. Finally, Angel turned on his bar stool to face the stage... and found himself staring straight at Lindsey McDonald. At least he *thought* it was Lindsey, but this man was a far cry from the smooth, unruffled lawyer that Angel was used to dealing with.

Dressed in blue jeans and a tight white t-shirt with a plaid shirt tied casually 'round his waist, this Lindsey had his eyes closed and was swaying to the pounding guitar instrumental, an acoustic guitar strung across his front, his hair falling across his face rather than slicked back. As the swell of the music ended he turned back to the microphone, running his hands sensuously up the stand... and looked straight back at Angel. Seeing the vampire sitting there did not seem to faze him at all.

Fixing his stare completely on Angel, he continued singing:

 _''Well I ain't no good to no one no how not right now,  
'Cause I forgot to run myself and I got run down,  
Do I look like something you can put in a fucking cage?_

 _Come over here and gimme a kiss.''_

The sensuality of that huskily whispered line combined with Lindsey's intense gaze made Angel wonder just what the hell kind of game the lawyer thought he was playing. He should just turn away from him... but he didn't.

 _''Yeah, I'm starting to see. Yeah, I do believe.  
Better keep your distance from this tangled shape I'm in,  
Now no one had better touch me right now in this cold-blooded thick skin,  
Well well now I said you better run real fast when you hear that rattling sound,  
Oh I said you better run real fast or this one's gonna knock you down. _

_And I sit alone in the desert rain with my tail in the air...''_

The song died away and applause went on for an age. Lindsey grinned, took a little bow and handed the guitar back before ducking off the stage and heading for the bar. He pitched up right next to Angel.

'Twice in one day, Angel? I'm starting to think you're a fan,' Lindsey mocked, as he leant across the bar to get some service.

'It wasn't intentional, believe me,' sighed Angel.

'Yeah, yeah, whatever... Drink?'

Angel almost did a double take at the offer but managed to nod casually towards his glass. Lindsey ordered two shots of whiskey.

'And this would be in aid of...?' Angel enquired.

'You heard the man,' Lindsey gestured towards the stage. 'I'm leaving town - tonight in fact. I thought the least we could do is have a civilized drink before I go... considering the number of times we've tried to kill each other and all.'

'The fact that I haven't succeeded is not a cause for celebration, Lindsey.'

'But the fact that *I* haven't, is, right?'

'Like you could,' Angel muttered.

'Hey! I'm a nice guy trying to do a nice thing here, Angel. Don't spoil it.' Lindsey handed the vampire a glass and sat down to face him on the next bar stool.

'Okay... So, what are we drinking to?' asked Angel. 'The future? You never coming back?'

'I'll drink to that,' said Lindsey. He tipped his glass towards Angel in a brief gesture of comradeship, and knocked it back. He grimaced and shook his head roughly. 'Whoa, *not* gonna miss drinking this town's approximation of a good whiskey.'

'The secret is to keep going,' Angel divulged, conspiratorially. 'After four you don't notice the burning so much, after seven it becomes almost drinkable, and after twelve...

'Hey! After *twelve*, you're gonna be carrying me out of here,' interrupted Lindsey. Somewhere in Angel's slightly alcohol-fogged brain, the thought of carrying Lindsey McDonald was filed under 'interesting'. Lindsey grinned at Angel's reaction as he turned to order more alcohol. It occurred to Angel that he'd never see him smile like that before. It wasn't the usual smirk of self-satisfaction and revenge. He looked... happy.

'Still, I'm game if you are!' Lindsey was now brandishing the entire bottle, and Angel resigned himself to what he thought would be the oddest night of companionship in his long life.

~~~~~~~~

And so it was that Angel found himself sitting at a table in the back room of a bar with Lindsey McDonald... and actually enjoying himself. The sounds of the live band were now more muted than they had been at the bar, but Angel noticed that Lindsey was still unconsciously tapping a foot or a finger in time, even as they spoke.

Music was obviously pretty important to him, especially if his haunting performance earlier was anything to go by, and Angel felt a brief stab of guilt at cutting off the hand of someone who clearly loved to play the guitar. Plus, he could no longer keep pretending, even to himself, that Lindsey was a bad singer. Over two hundred and fifty years, and the vampire had still not got to grips with plain old jealousy.

That was Angelus's fault! Angel's demon had to be the best at everything. Have the best of everything. And if someone excelled him, he'd eat them - simple! Spike had always laughed at Angelus's need to be unsurpassed.

The sudden thoughts of his irrepressible blonde childe brought Angel back to the present, and he found himself wondering what Spike would have made of Lindsey? He suspected that they would have got on pretty well, both sharing a passion for music and moral-less evil, and something about that thought made the demon in him stir. There were unexpected feelings of ownership and possession associated with both those people that he was now just a little bit too drunk to deal with.

'Have you heard from Darla, since...?' Lindsey changed the subject, fortunately for Angel who had only been half listening as he'd contemplated the pieces of his past.

'No. Nothing. Not since...' The sentence hung in the air between them, unfinished but speaking volumes. They both knew what had happened the last time Angel had seen Darla. 'She'll turn up again. They both will, sooner or later.'

Lindsey merely nodded and poured them both another drink.

'For what it's worth; I'm sorry,' said Lindsey.

'No you're not.'

'Well, no, you're probably right. But then if they'd done it my way, I'd be sitting here drinking with a pile of dust.' He didn't sound as though this was an outcome he'd actually prefer right now. Angel put it down to the drink. 'But I *am* sorry about what they did. Bringing back Darla and everything. It was supposed to have happened differently and heads rolled because of the fuck up - literally rolled, too. Situation ended up messing with everyone's plans. Yours too, I'll bet?'

'No, I *planned* to channel Angelus, fire all my employees and embrace the dark side, really. All part of the cosmic plan.'

'And the wine cellar incident? Where did that come in your 'cosmic plan'?' Lindsey smiled again and Angel felt a response tugging at his own lips before he could think about it.

'Let's just call that, 'an added bonus', shall we?' Angel poured them both another drink and in the comfortable silence, thought drifted back to the night at Holland Manners' house. Angel was well aware that he hadn't expected anyone to make it out of that wine cellar alive. He guessed that Lindsey probably knew it too.

A small part of Angel - probably the part that was drunk - decided that he was quite glad Lindsey had been spared. He filed this thought away with all the others that he didn't want to deal with.

~~~~~~~~

Relaxed by alcohol, the conversation lulled to a comfortable silence. Angel picked up his empty glass from the table and rolled it gently between his fingers, watching the light bounce off its surface. He tried balancing it on the edge of its base, letting it drop back down with a satisfying 'clunk'.

'God, Angel! Fidget much?'

'What?' he looked down at his fingers, which were currently tapping a-rhythmically on the side of the glass. 'Sorry,' he pushed the glass away and put his hands in his lap, where they began to worry at the hem of his shirt.

'You too, huh?' Lindsey asked. Angel raised his eyebrow in question. 'A reformed smoker?' Lindsey prompted.

'Oh, yeah... Well, strictly speaking it's not *my* habit, but alcohol does seem to channel some of the habits of my alter-ego.'

'Just so long as nicotine addiction is the *only* glimpse of Angelus I get to see tonight, then we'll be okay.'

Lindsey too was fiddling reflexively with his glass, and Angel tried to recall if he'd ever seen Lindsey smoke before, or if it was a long-abandoned habit for him. Just then, as if someone was really trying to piss them both off, a woman strolled past their table, lit cigarette in hand, exhaling a stream of grey/blue smoke.

Lindsey managed to tip his glass over with a loud crash, and Angel snatched it away from him like a parent with an irritating child. Suddenly aware of the strange dynamic, they smiled amusedly at each other.

The woman with the cigarette crossed the bar again, and Lindsey visibly snapped, standing up so quickly that his chair almost toppled over. The woman stopped and turned 'round, and when she saw Lindsey approaching she placed a hand on her hip and pouted seductively. Angel felt a low growl start up in his chest, and hastily turned it into a cough.

'Excuse me miss, I'm sorry to bother you like this...'

'Not at all,' she purred. The tabletop began to creak in Angel's grip.

'Well, I was just wondering if I might trouble you for one of your cigarettes. It's been a while but I seem to be lacking in willpower this evening.' Lindsey flashed her a cute grin, and Angel filed his last sentence away for future reference.

The woman reached into her purse and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, which she offered to him, along with a good look down the front of her dress. Lindsey took a cigarette almost lovingly in his fingers and stuck it between his lips. Angel wondered if it was possible to be jealous of a cigarette.

'Thank you so much,' said Lindsey. 'You don't know how grateful my friend and I are.' He gestured towards Angel as he bent to her proffered lighter.

The smile on the woman's lips faltered and then died as she looked at Lindsey, then at Angel and back to Lindsey again. She rolled her eyes in complete annoyance and irritably snapped the lighter closed.

Three distinct thoughts came to Angel as he watched the exchange. The first was 'I'm Lindsey's friend?' This thought unexpectedly made him smile... but also feel about six years old. The second was 'Oh fuck, she thinks we're a couple?' Horror and outrage battled for supremacy. The final, and most surprising thought was 'Mmm, she thinks we're a couple... Cool!' Angel mentally slapped his inner demon at that one.

Lindsey straightened and offered his best smile to the woman's retreating back, leaving him with a slightly confused look on his face. Then the smoke he'd inhaled hit his out-of-practice lungs and he coughed violently, falling back into his seat and handing the lit cigarette to Angel as his stomach heaved and his eyes watered.

'Nice moves, Linds,' snorted Angel, drawing deeply on the cigarette and blowing a couple of smoke rings. 'Jeez, it *has* been a while, hasn't it?'

'Are we still talking about the smoking,' asked Lindsey, finally recovering the use of his vocal chords, ''cause I seem to have lost my touch in a few other areas too.' He nodded in the direction that the woman had disappeared in.

Angel smiled ruefully, wondering how the Lawyer would react to his answer. 'Don't worry, you're as appealing as ever, Lindsey. She just thought that I was your date...'

Angel waited, watching the changing expression on the face opposite him.

'She *what*?!' he said. 'You are kidding me, right?'

'Nope,' replied Angel, a little dejectedly. 'Look, I'm sure she's just...'

'I don’t believe it,' Lindsey continued, 'I mean, I'm clearly *way* out of your league...' He smirked at Angel, who finally realised that his chain was being yanked.

'Yeah, you wish, Lindsey...' Angel smirked back, relaxing back into the comfortable silence between them, and quietly smoking their cigarette.

Lindsey gently reached out towards Angel... and took the cigarette from between his lips. He sat back and took a shallow drag, then - satisfied that he wasn't about to cough up another lung - a deeper one. Exhaling the smoke in a plume, Lindsey looked over towards Angel again.

'What?' he asked, when he realised that he was being watched intently. 'Hey, I prostituted out my boyish good looks and charm for this thing. You didn't think I'd let you hog it all, did you?'

~~~~~~~~

They talked, they smoked, (Angel gave in and bought a packet from behind the bar), they laughed, they drank - a lot - and there was probably a hint of flirting in there too, which Angel mentally chalked up to the excess drinking. And he actually found himself starting to like Lindsey, once the initial distrust had passed.

A break in the conversation had Lindsey, more or less coherently, voicing the need for more alcohol. He reached for the bottle on the table at the same time as Angel.

Their fingers met around the cool glass bottleneck.

Angel drew in a sharp breath at the warmth of Lindsey's touch. He looked across to see if his reaction had been noticed, and found himself staring into the dilated pupils of grey/blue eyes that met his gaze and did not look away. Their hands were still on the bottle.

In a split second, Angel read a myriad of emotions coming from Lindsey: fear, excitement, confusion... and arousal. Slowly, he retreated, and Lindsey poured them both a shot, his hand giving just the slightest tremble.

‘So, are you still planning on leaving LA tonight?’ asked Angel, trying to smooth over the moment they’d just had.

‘After this lot,’ Lindsey nodded towards the now empty bottle, ‘I don’t think I’ll be in a fit state to drive my truck anywhere tonight. Guess I can stay at the apartment for one more night. I was gonna have to go back there to pick up my stuff anyway.’

His gaze remained firmly rooted on the table top, steadfastly refusing to meet Angel’s eyes.

‘So, I guess I should be going then. Good luck, Angel. Maybe I’ll see you around some time.’ Lindsey slipped his shirt on and turned to go, still not looking at the vampire.

Suddenly, Angel knew that he couldn’t let him leave like this. He reached out and gently touched Lindsey’s arm, forcing him to make eye contact.

‘Walk you home?’ Angel said, softly.

‘What?’ Lindsey sounded confused rather than angry.

Angel stood up too before speaking. ‘There’s a lot of demons on the streets at night, Lindsey. I mean, who’s gonna protect them from an evil Lawyer if I don’t?’ He smiled at the man, who didn’t seem to have noticed that Angel’s hand was still on his arm... or if he had, he didn’t seem to mind.

‘Well, when you put it like that, I guess you’d just be doing your job,’ said Lindsey.

~~~~~~~~

Angel stood on the sidewalk, waiting for Lindsey to say his goodbyes. He struck a match against the wall and lit a cigarette while he waited. He was getting a taste for them again. Damn! Now he *knew* he was drunk.

When Lindsey reappeared, Angel allowed him to take the lead before falling, slightly unsteadily, in step next to him. Angel knew where Lindsey lived, but they didn’t need the memories of his last visit dragged up at that precise moment.

They walked in silence, the cool night air starting to have a slightly sobering effect.

‘So, spotted any demons that need protecting yet?’ asked Lindsey after a while.

‘Not yet, but I feel better just knowing that I’m here,’ Angel told him with a smile.

‘Strangely, me too,’ he replied.

And then there was silence again.

‘OK. We’re here,’ said Lindsey, about ten seconds after Angel had recognised the plush apartment block as Lindsey’s.

Angel followed Lindsey in through the lobby, and Lindsey never suggested that he shouldn’t. They rode the elevator up to Lindsey’s floor in silence, neither one questioning Angel’s continued accompaniment. At the door to his apartment, Lindsey unlocked it and stepped inside. Angel waited on the threshold, knowing that whether he got an invitation or not would tell him everything he needed to know.

‘I never got it revoked, Angel,’ said a voice from somewhere inside the apartment.

He took a tentative step forward to find that the mystical barrier usually present on dwellings of the living was indeed gone. So, Lindsey never took back his invitation. Angel didn’t know whether to be flattered or worried.

Looking around, the place was pretty much as he’d remembered it, only with fewer personal effects and a pile of bags and boxes at the door - the sum total of Lindsey’s life. Or at least the parts of it he wanted to take with him.

‘Drink?’ asked Lindsey, for the second time that night.

‘Er, haven't you had enough yet? ‘Cause I’m pretty far gone here, and - Hello! Vampiric constitution.’

‘Tell me about it...’ said Lindsey. ‘You sure are one expensive date, Angel!’ He was pouring them a couple of drinks regardless, while Angel stood and tried to react to the idea of being Lindsey’s date. It was no good. It still made him want to smile.

Lindsey flopped wearily onto one end of the couch with a sigh and turned to look up expectantly at Angel. Shrugging off his duster and grabbing the drink from the counter, Angel perched carefully on the opposite end, still not sure of his role in this scene.

Lindsey sipped his drink slowly, letting his eyes wander 'round the room.

'You sure you're not gonna miss all this?' asked Angel.

'What, this place?'

'Yeah. The apartment, the company car, the six-figure salary...'

'Not really,' Lindsey answered, shortly. Angel watched the Lawyer, waiting for the inevitable elaboration. 'It's not about the material stuff. It's about where it comes from... or what it stands for... or something.'

Angel just nodded. He knew that Lindsey had a soul in there somewhere. Maybe a little underused, but he'd seen flashes of goodness from this man on more than one occasion. Maybe leaving LA would be the first step on *his* path to redemption.

'So why leave LA? Why now?' Angel pushed a little further.

'Because I'm tired, Angel. Tired of being a pawn in their corporate game. Tired of pulling strings without knowing what the puppet looks like. And tired of coming home every night, in my company car, to my executive apartment, and feeling...'

'Dirty?'

'Something like that, yeah.'

'So...?' Angel pushed.

'Oh, I'm not having some great epiphany here, Angel. I know Wolfram and Hart are evil, I know they've done unspeakable evil in the past and will continue to do so long after my lifetime. Seeing it first hand doesn't make we want to try and save the innocent. Besides, that's your gig.'

Angel smiled at this speech. Typical Lindsey - a conscience that only works on his terms.

'But they'll always be there y'know. Wolfram and Hart. They'll always be one step ahead of you too. And you know why?' Angel sensed that this was a rhetorical question and kept his mouth shut. 'Because you're the predictable white-hat, Angel. There's nothing you could say or do that would surprise them.'

'I've been thinking about kissing you all evening.'

'Well, apart from that. That might surprise them,' Lindsey replied, thoughtfully.

'But not you, apparently.' Angel decided it might be better if the conversation continued without any input from his brain.

'If it helps, I've been thinking about letting you.'

Angel's groin and Angel's brain were finally in agreement - that no further encouragement was needed. Sliding quickly over the soft cushions in an attempt to close the gap between them, Angel was surprised to meet Lindsey halfway. They both stopped, staring at each other intently, taking in the enormity of what might be about to happen. Then slowly, tentatively, Angel reached out to touch Lindsey's hair. He ran his fingers through the soft waves, sliding his hand down to the nape of the neck and using it to bring Lindsey's lips towards his own.

~~~~~~~~

Their first kiss was not movie-like. There was no surging orchestral accompaniment, no brilliant fireworks or cries of ecstasy. But it was warm and gentle, hesitant at first and then deepening, as Angel revelled in the warmth of a living human.

Becoming more aroused by the sensations, he pulled Lindsey towards him, wrapping his arms around the human who was doing the same to Angel. Angel felt Lindsey's mouth open and the kiss hit a whole new level, their lips and tongues desperate to remain entwined while their bodies struggled for more contact too.

Using his vampiric strength, Angel did the only sensible thing under the circumstances, and dragged the unsuspecting Lindsey on top of him until he was straddling Angel's lap. Face to face, Lindsey could thrust his fingers into Angel's hair, grasp the back of his neck as he kissed him and press his groin against Angel's, the gentle rocking movement almost unconscious as they lost themselves in each other.

When they finally broke apart, Lindsey was panting, his eyes dark with arousal, his hands still twisted in Angel's hair.

'Well, that might fuck up one or two of the firm's prophecies!' he laughed.

'*Please* tell me that *this* hasn't been referred to in one of their scrolls?' pleaded Angel, laughing too.

'God, I hope not!' Lindsey place his hand on his chest in a gesture of mock declamation. '"And So It Is Written That The Souled Demon And The Evil Handed One Shall Have Fantastic Sex On The Eve Of The Evil Handed One's Departure!" Nah, I don't really see it, do you?'

'We're gonna...?' Angel tried to swallow, but someone seemed to have removed all the moisture from his mouth. 'I mean...' Suddenly he was very aware of the fact that Lindsey was still sitting astride his lap.

And looking at him like he was a chocolate covered cherry.

Lindsey silenced the vampire's questions by pulling him into another kiss, hard and passionate, bruising his lips against Angel's, exploring his mouth with his tongue, his body with his hands... and Angel surrendered to Lindsey's touch.

This was *not* how Angel had expected the evening to proceed. True, he hadn't planned on seducing Lindsey McDonald in the first place, but after they'd flirted and Lindsey had let him walk him back to his apartment, he figured that he'd eventually make a semi-drunken pass at him. Then Lindsey would then either, a) attempt to stake him in disgust, or at least toss him out on his ass, or b) be too drunk to notice / care / see and Angel figured he might get lucky to a greater or lesser degree.

After all, Lindsey *was* seriously hot, and Angel *was* a vampire, therefore open to all comers, so to speak. Ahh, memories of Spike again...

What he didn't figure on was Lindsey straddling him and not just going along with it, but initiating it. 'It' being deep, lust filled kisses that had now progressed to full body contact and interesting hand positions. Angel began to wonder if it was *just* possible that Lindsey had also done this before.

Seeming to sense that Angel's mind wasn't one hundred percent on the task in hand, Lindsey eased away and studied the vampire. Large, searching eyes fixed Angel's own from beneath long, soft brown lashes, hands still firm on Angel's chest.

'What? Isn't this want you wanted?' Lindsey asked with an innocent smile. 'Or are you a prick tease on top of everything else?'

'No, no,' Angel reassured, still slightly dazed from the onslaught. 'It's just that...er...' Okay, what *was* it?

'Oh, I get it.' Lindsey started to laugh. 'So I'm guessing you had me pegged for either turning you down flat, or,' he paused for effect, 'giving my shy but curious self up to your superior vampire-ness in a first-time, submissive, experimentation kinda way. Am I right?'

Angel felt himself blushing, despite being dead, and wondered if the Lawyer had mind reading skills that he'd never known about. Then again, he was just grateful that Lindsey hadn't sussed the 'being too drunk to notice' idea.

Lindsey brought his face right up to Angel's until they were nose to nose.

'Wrong and wrong again, vampire. Did you think I'd never noticed they way you look at me? Or wondered why?'

He was leaning forward with his whole body now, pressing his hips into Angel's and reminding him how painfully hard they both were. His voice dropped to a seductive whisper.

'Wolfram and Hart have more detailed files on you than the Watchers Council could hope to amass in a lifetime - even yours. I know *all* about Angelus and William the Bloody...' Lindsey grinned, knowing that Angel would understand *exactly* which of his and Spike's activities he was referring to.

~~~~~~~~

Angel tried to swallow again, with a slightly greater degree of success. Damn it! Why couldn't Lindsey be unconscious? He was starting to like that plan a whole lot better right about now.

While Angel was trying to get a grip on the Lawyer he was almost wearing, trying to decide what he should do next, Lindsey was in the driving seat once again. Pressing his lips to the vampire's neck, he nibbled softly, working his hands under Angel's shirt. The heat of Lindsey's fingers made Angel's skin burn and its response levels seemed to go through the roof. *Every* touch sent him further and further over the edge, until all he could think about was how much he wanted this man.

But again, Lindsey seemed to be just a fraction of a step ahead. Before Angel could form the words, Lindsey was climbing off his lap and pulling him insistently towards... Angel guessed it was the bedroom, but quite frankly, a broom closet would have been okay with him at that point.

They moved through the apartment, mouths and hands keeping contact, not saying a word but never taking their eyes off one another, as though one of them might disappear if they looked away for even a second.

When they stopped, Angel found himself in Lindsey's bedroom. Oddly the bed was still made, despite the fact that Lindsey had planned to leave that night. Angel guessed that Lindsey must have read his look and replied simply with, 'New start.'

Angel nodded, both of them understanding more in that sentence than was actually said. Lindsey would be leaving more behind here than just the sheets...

Gripped by an overwhelming need to never stop touching Lindsey, Angel pulled the other man towards him and kissed him with a force of pure need, laving his tongue against Lindsey's and pressing their bodies together as close as he could. More than anything he wanted Lindsey up against a wall, but they were facing the wrong way. Deciding that the mattress would do just as well, Angel broke the kiss, leaving Lindsey panting slightly for the breath that he didn't need himself.

He reached for Lindsey's t-shirt and pulled it up over his head. Then he stopped. And stared.

'What?' asked Lindsey, standing naked from the waist up and unabashed beneath Angel's intense gaze.

'You're breathtaking,' Angel said softly, as though it should have been obvious.

Lindsey closed the gap between them again and pressed one finger to Angel's kiss-warmed lips. 'No breath.'

'Told you.'

In reply, Lindsey stripped Angel's shirt from him and looked at the vampire in the same way. One look into dilated pupils told Angel everything he needed to know. Pushing Lindsey backwards, they both ended up on the bed, Angel leaning over Lindsey and taking in every inch of the body that lay supine beneath him, begging to be touched.

He bent his head to Lindsey's torso, brushing his lips sensuously across the warm skin and breathing in the unique scent. Lindsey smelt like smoke, whisky and sex. Which, okay, wasn't totally unique to Angel, but the undercurrent of human blood and arousal, that was new... and totally addictive. He wanted to consume this man. Not literally, although he was sure Angelus would enjoy doing just that.

'Okay, this is verging on the disturbing now, even for me,' came the voice from beneath him. Angel realised he was still smelling Lindsey, and straightened up immediately.

'Sorry, it's just...'

'A vampire thing? Yeah, I get it.' Lindsey smiled, propping himself up on his elbows as Angel moved self-consciously from his predatory position on top of Lindsey, allowing one hand to trail slowly across the other man's chest. Lindsey let his head drop as he arched his back and hissed quietly at the touch. Angel lazily circled Lindsey's nipples before dipping down across his stomach and towards the top of his jeans... and back up again.

God! How did Lindsey do this to him? He was a master vampire for crying out loud! Angel could practically *hear* Angelus calling him every wussy name under the sun, screaming at him to just do it before Lindsey died of old age. Yet Angel still hesitated.

Lindsey had lifted his head again, and was regarding Angel with a mixture of interest and total frustration. He sat up and fixed Angel's eyes with his own.

'While a part of me fears that what I'm about to do could get me severely dead, the rest of me's getting bored waiting, Angel.' And with that, Lindsey pushed him down onto the bed and rolled on top of him, pushing Angel's shoulders hard into the mattress and crushing their lips together. The kiss was deep and hard; speaking of need and desire; of possession and passion; lust and violence.

And Angel surrendered...

Even Angelus grew quiet...

Lindsey's hands were firm and insistent against Angel's body; touching, stroking, caressing, pinching, rubbing and exploring. Following Lindsey's lead, Angel allowed himself a similar exploration, still kissing those oh-so-kissable lips and pushing his hips upwards in a desperate attempt to find contact.

When they rubbed together, Lindsey moaned softly and Angel nearly passed out with desire. When Lindsey began inching his way down Angel's body, trailing a path with his tongue to the top of Angel's pants, and *not* stopping, Angel thought he *was* going to pass out. Then the clothing was being dragged from his body, urgency giving rise to a certain amount of grappling and inelegancy.

There was a brief war within Angel between 'need' and 'fear'. The need for Lindsey to get him naked was strong, but the fear for good Armani pants won out and he pushed Lindsey away to carefully remove them himself. He managed to stop short of folding them neatly though. Lindsey simply hopped off the bed and shucked his own jeans off in one easy motion, the absence of any underwear striking yet more chords with Angel's past.

~~~~~~~~

And so it was that Angel found himself stark naked and gasping for unneeded breath underneath one Lindsey McDonald. The heat of Lindsey's skin was almost unbearable and yet he wanted to touch as much of it as possible, to feel the burn of full body contact. But more than anything, he wanted Lindsey to never stop doing exactly what he was doing.

'Fuck! Yes!' he breathed, as Lindsey swallowed him deeply, the wet heat of his mouth surrounding Angel's shaft and making him arch his back in desire. He grabbed at the sheets, pulling them into clenched fists as he thrust his hips towards Lindsey's mouth. It was all Angel could do to stop himself from taking hold of the head currently bobbing over his groin and fucking it mercilessly.

'Jesus, Linds... Oh god...' Angel moaned as the mouth wrapped around him began to speed up, sucking harder in response to his cries. He wanted it to last. Hell, he wanted it to go on forever, but there was no chance of that. With an almighty squeal that he would come to suspect later was less than manly, he came hard and fast into Lindsey's mouth.

Lindsey, for his part, attempted to swallow, but when it became too much, he simply allowed the seed to spill across Angel's stomach, and to run out of his mouth and down his chin to meet the already considerable pool. Angel thought that it was possibly the most erotic thing he's ever seen.

He read the look of surprise in Lindsey's eyes as he slowly came back down to earth, and replied with a shrug that simply said, 'it's been a while'.

Lindsey snaked back up Angel's body and engaged his lips in another kiss. Angel could taste himself on the other man and he felt himself begin to stiffen again in response. He could also feel Lindsey's hardness nudging urgently at his hip and wondered what his next move should be. Obviously, he knew what the next *logical* step was, but Lindsey managed to unhinge him in such an unnerving way, that he felt totally lost.

One again though, Lindsey took control, slipping to one side and nudging Angel gently but firmly onto his front. Realisation dawned on the vampire and his eyes widened comically.

'Hang on a second. Are we...? I mean... Do you think that...?'

'Oh, come on, Angel,' Lindsey cut him off. 'What?' he asked honestly at the continued questioning looks. 'You thought *I'd* be bottom?'

'Well...' Angel began, even more unnerved by Lindsey's blunt terminology. 'The thought might have crossed my mind.'

'You've not done this with a human male before, have you.'

'You say that like it's a statement rather than a question.'

'Pretty much, yes. And trust me - This is *definitely* the way to do this.'

'But I've not... I mean...' Angel stuttered in a most un-master-vampire-like way.

'Now don't try and tell me that you've never been bottom before.'

'Well, it's just...'

'A long time, yeah. But not exactly new territory.' Angel simply raised one eyebrow at him in question. '1895... In London...' Lindsey continued, 'you were drunk, and Spike...'

'Jees, Linds! Is there a *complete* record of my sex life at Wolfram & Hart?'

'Pretty much, yes. Now are you gonna turn over or what?'

Angel started to wonder what the 'or what' might entail, but before he could get too far, Lindsey was kissing him again and urging him to move. He figured that he had two options here: He could either continue protesting and run the risk of Lindsey kicking him out, or he could accept his fate and get fucked by Lindsey. Hell, who was he kidding? Lindsey was seriously hot, and Angel was prepared to take him any way that he could get him... or be taken, in this case.

The feel of the hot, aroused body next to him quickly made up his mind and Angel obediently lay on his stomach, looking around at Lindsey expectantly. The lawyer was looking at him in the same way that he'd seen Cordelia look at a bar of chocolate when it was *that* time of the month - Pure unadulterated desire... and Angel's stomach somersaulted in response.

Lindsey then broke his gaze, moved away from Angel and began rummaging down the side of the bed. Angel followed his movements with a look of confusion. In answer, and after much fumbling and mumbled curses, Lindsey triumphantly held up the small tube that he'd been searching for.

Angel was momentarily caught off guard; he'd never used any kind of lubrication before. Then again - vampire. Lying on his stomach, he craned his neck to try and see what Lindsey was doing. Something just wasn't right. Carefully, Angel manoeuvred himself onto his back again. If they were going to do this, they were going to do it looking at each other, or not at all.

If Lindsey registered any surprise at Angel's change of position, he didn't show it. Because suddenly it became very real. There was no more light-hearted banter... No more joking around... And the feeling of 'no going back' was almost palpable.

As Lindsey knelt between Angel's legs, all Angel could think about was how much he wanted this. And the waves of arousal coming from Lindsey told him the feeling was mutual. Lindsey shifted himself over the vampire and Angel lifted his lips to kiss him. Their mouths came together in passion; licking, nibbling, devouring. And as Lindsey pushed slowly and gently into him, Angel knew for certain that this was going to be unlike anything he'd ever experienced. Spike included.

Being two vampires, their coupling had been fast, furious and animalistic, ripping his way into Spike more often than not. This felt so tender and caring, and Angel could never have thought that riding lube-slicked skin could feel so incredible. He made a mental note to send a tube to Sunnydale at the first opportunity. That ought to confuse the bleached menace! Then Lindsey hit that long-forgotten sweet spot inside him, and Angel couldn't help but cry out loud.

He finally opened his eyes, which he'd barely noticed were closed, to find Lindsey staring right at him, an ecstatic grin on his face, blue eyes dilated beyond any discernable colour. He bent and kissed Angel again, increasing his thrusts in pace and reaching places that Angel never knew existed.

He could fight the urge to move no longer. Driving his hips upwards to meet Lindsey half way, Angel quickened the pace again. Lindsey was panting hard now and moaning incoherencies that required no response. Desperately wanting to come with Lindsey, Angel reached between their sweat-slicked bodies and took hold of himself, matching the furious rhythm they were setting.

'Oh, fuck! God, Angel...' Lindsey breathed as he looked down at Angel touching himself. He closed his eyes to it, as though trying to hold on for a few more seconds.

Angel arched his back as he came, cool seed pumping out over his hand and onto his stomach. The fluttering contractions around his length took Lindsey helplessly over the edge and, with a final thrust, he came hard inside the cool body beneath him.

The power of his orgasm seemed to drain the strength from Lindsey's entire body, and he collapsed awkwardly onto Angel, still breathing hard. He nuzzled into Angel's neck for a few moments, but then carefully rolled away as if embarrassed by his actions.

Eventually, Lindsey propped himself up on one elbow and looked expectantly at the taciturn vampire lying next to him.

'Fuck me...' murmured Angel, finally, still staring fixedly at the ceiling.

'Is that a comment or a request?'

Smug git, thought Angel. Lindsey chuckled softly at the vampire's inability to form a snappy reply before hauling the sheets over himself and settling down, his eyes already starting to flutter closed.

Angel guessed that this was his cue to get the hell out. He attempted to struggle into a sitting position, grimacing at the general stickiness he appeared to be covered in.

'I'll be outta here in just a minute.' His leaden limbs stubbornly refused to move. 'Just as soon as I find my...er...' Co-ordination? Brain? Just move, dammit!

'Shut up and go to sleep, Angel,' murmured Lindsey sleepily, pulling him back down and under the sheets.

Angel sighed more happily than he had a right to, and drifted contentedly off to sleep.

~~~~~~~~

Angel slowly opened his eyes, immediately registering both the receding daylight and the empty mattress beside him. Boy, was *he* gonna have some explaining to do when he got back to the hotel. On the pillow next to him was a folded note with a simple 'A' on the front. Angel slowly reached out and picked it up, holding it for a few seconds before carefully opening it. In Lindsey's neat handwriting was written:

"The key to Wolfram & Hart: Don't let them make you play their game - You gotta make them play yours... L."

Angel smiled and re-folded the note. So, the lawyer from hell had finally left the building. And Angel hadn't had to do anything immature... Unless you counted sleeping with him.

He stretched his limbs and settled back under the sheets, subconsciously inhaling the combined scents of Lindsey and sex. He was pretty sure that the sun was about down by now, but he decided to give it a few more minutes...

Just in case.

~~~~ EPILOGUE~~~~

The package was postmarked Los Angeles and addressed to Spike care of the Magic Shop. The idea of it having come from its most logical sender filled Spike with confusion and excitement in equal measure.

He ripped into it and tipped its contents onto the top of his crypt's sarcophagus: One single item, no note. Now he was even more confused.

As he turned the small tube over in his fingers, Spike wondered if he would ever understand his sire...

~~~~END~~~~


End file.
